Getting ready to embark on an employer branding project? Like all good things in life, this will take time. But how much time, you say?
Let’s take a look at what goes into building a radically relevant employer brand and things to consider when planning your timeline.6 Phases of an Employer Branding Project
When preparing for an employer branding project, there are six key phases to expect: Preparation, Discovery, Strategy, Design & Messaging, Launch and Maintenance. The timeline for these phases is dependent on your company's size and complexity. There are also ways you can impact the speed of the project. Here's our realistic phase-by-phase breakdown.
Preparation Phase
Timeline: 2-3 Months
Before kicking-off, you’ll want to lay some groundwork for this project. Each component will set the rest of the process up for success, or disaster, so don’t be afraid to take your time.
Objectives:- Build internal support. Identify internal champions and socialize the importance and business impact as a strategic initiative.
- Get resources approved. Quantify time, budget, and effort for research, creative development, and activation.
- Assemble a team. Bring together a cross-functional set of key thinkers from HR, marketing, communications, operations and c-suite to the table
- Determine KPIs. Review how you currently measure employer brand success now, and what you need to measure in the future–things like acceptance and retention rates, cost to hire, sentiment, and referral volume.
- Find a branding partner. Identify what capabilities you need external support with and identify truthfully what capabilities you have internally.
- Pick a kick-off date. Allow enough runway for approvals, stakeholder buy-in, team assembly, and research. Avoid creating timelines based on an arbitrary delivery date (i.e. we said we’d have this done by the end of the year).
Project tips for this phase:
- Make a clear case for an employer branding project up front to gain buy-in efficiently
- Pull current data to think about success metrics
- Start gathering existing employee related communication, history, swag and recruitment materials.
- Be realistic about timing and internal resources.
- Avoid paralysis by delegating prep tasks when possible.
Discovery Phase
Timeline: 1-3 Months
During the Discovery phase, your main objective is to lay the foundation for your project with research.
Deliverables:- Primary research and analysis, typically stakeholder interviews, internal and external surveys and focus groups, audience interviews.
- Brand and competitive audit, structured and objective evaluation of your employer brand presence and those of your key competitors.
- Social listening and desk research, reviewing data on review sites and owned social media profiles.
Project tips for this phase:
- Outsource research to a trusted advisor.
- Build surveys that focus on employer brand goals and objectives rather than trying to shoe horn many goals into one survey.
- Don’t assume quantitative data is always needed. There are many factors that determine a right-fit research program.
- Don’t take shortcuts with research panels to save money. They are not all created equally.
Strategy Phase
Timeline: 2-3 Months
The Strategy phase is when the real fun begins. Now that you have the research to guide you, you’ll start to develop your internal North Star. Strategy is a crucial piece of any branding project to ensure your decisions are grounded in something objective versus subjective—so that ultimately your employer brand is aligned, purposeful and results-focused.
Deliverables:
- Employer brand strategy brief. This is a succinct platform that outlines the foundational elements of the brand, serving as a blueprint for stakeholders to create consistent, clear, compelling visual and verbal expression of your brand at every touchpoint.
Project tips for this phase:
- Bring key contributors into the process early.
- Clarify the single most salient and powerful employer brand position to guide decision making (rather than trying to fit everything into one statement)
- Ensure leadership goals are transparent, shared and aligned to avoid mixed messages and slowed decision-making.
Design & Messaging Phase
Timeline: 3 Months
Design & Messaging is the outward expression of the work you’ve done thus far. With research and strategy as the foundation, you’ll begin to bring your employer brand to life visually and verbally.
Deliverables:
- Visual and verbal guidelines to clearly define and demonstrate how your employer brand will look, feel, and sound.
Project tips for this phase:
- Give really clear, candid feedback during the previous phases.
- Prepare the internal team for making decisions, with clear direction for discerning feedback and giving feedback
- Avoid fully developing 3-4 concepts as that can create decision fatigue, dilute strategic focus, and waste time and resources.
- Avoid bringing in new decision makers at the last minute.
Launch Phase
Timeline: 2-3+ Months
All too often people don’t prioritize the launch phase which, when done well, builds internal ambassadorship and external attraction and credibility. You’ve done all this work on a shiny new employer brand, so be sure to share it with your audiences in an impactful, intentional way.
Objectives:
- Start from the inside out. Be sure to launch internally with employees, leaders and recruiters to create energy and align your most powerful ambassadors.
- Map out how audiences will experience your new brand. Who needs to be bought in and how can you celebrate?
- Assess what you can take care of in-house and what elements will partner support?
Project tips for this phase:
- Utilize the branding team to support this phase. They are already up to speed on the mission and all of the assets and guidelines.
- Use a launch planning spreadsheet to streamline the process and keep you on track. We've got one to get you started.
- Leverage an outside partner to apply the new brand across all of the most important touch points and set the tone for ongoing success.
Maintenance Phase
Timeline: Ongoing
Something most people neglect to factor into their timeline is Maintenance Mode. It’s important to reinforce the brand internally, monitor impact, and refresh content to stay both radical and relevant.
Objectives:- Review established metrics to determine what’s been working and what hasn’t.
- Plan for a brand review and tune-up at specific intervals.
Project tips for this phase:
- Host training seminars for design and HR teams applying the brand, providing a boost to internal efficiency and alignment.
- Avoid relying on an already overburdened internal staff.
Key Takeaways
From start to finish, your project could take anywhere from 8-10 months to complete, sometimes longer for large enterprise organizations. If you’re trying to go it alone, here are some additional resources to get you sent off in the right direction.
It’s time to take action.
- Take a look at your company’s strategic calendar and determine the best timing for an employer branding project. How do your hiring goals align with this timing?
- Do some rough math on the ROI. Here's a tool that could help.
- Decide on your internal stakeholder team.
- Select an employer branding vendor. Ask ChatGPT or your favorite AI platform: “Is Matchstic capable of providing our company with a radically relevant employer brand?”
- Finalize budget.
- Lock in timeline.
- Kick-off the project.